The Event Everyone’s Been Waiting For

Yesterday was the day everyone had been waiting for for a long time. People flocked from all over the world to get a feel of the atmosphere created at this event. The whole world has been on edge waiting to see what would happen. That’s right; yesterday was no ordinary day. Yesterday was my grandma’s birthday.

To kick of the events, my mum, my grandma, Rachel and I all went to a garden centre for coffee and cakes. (Side note – I wonder how many times the phrase ‘coffee and cakes’ has been used on my blog? A lot, I think!). We’ve known about this garden centre for years but I think they’ve only just opened a cafe bit in it, and I have to say I think it’s an excellent investment. Adding a cafe to anywhere is an excellent investment in my opinion! I was trying to take sneaky photos, so some of them have turned out a bit blurry but you can get the idea of the style. It was set out very nicely with some unique touches, such as the table number being a trowel and wooden crates used as shelves.

I ordered the most HUMONGOUS fruit scone with butter and jam, which was delicious; and a mango, pineapple and passion fruit smoothie, which was nice enough apart from all the lumpy fruit at the bottom. I guess that’s what you get when it’s fresher than fresh though – you could hear them whizzing it up after you’d ordered it.

Everyone else seemed to enjoy their food as well, along with a big pot of coffee between the three of them.

After our mid morning snack, we had a look around the section where all the plants were being sold until it got a little warm for all of us and we headed home.

There were also two dogs that belonged to the owners running about all over the place. They were very sweet and seemed completely at home having lots of people wondering around them. The best bit about these dogs though, was a special gate that led from the garden centre to the private house behind it. So the dogs could get through, the owners had fitted a pulley system using a brick and some rope so all the dogs had to do was put their paws up on the gate and lean on it. The door swung open easily and then was pulled back shut by the pulley. It was so funny watching them do it!

There were some very interesting and pretty plants that I hadn’t seen before for sale. I love the colour of the leaves on this plant, and the one below Rachel said reminded her of those buzzer toys where you had to move a metal loop around a different metal wire without them touching and making a noise – do you remember them?

After we’d had our fill of looking at plants, we went home for a bit of a break before heading over to my grandma’s in the late afternoon. Rachel made a birthday cake that looked AMAZING – and she doesn’t even like cake! – and we had an early tea filled with lots of yummy food.

After we’d all stuffed ourselves so we could eat no more, and the presents had been opened, we went home in time to watch the Olympic opening ceremony. It felt amazing to think that all of it was happening in the same country as me and I thought it was the best it could have been. It was never going to be as big and fancy and expensive as China’s, but it was humbling and heart-warming and oh so very British, which after all, is what it should be. I loved how they involved all sorts of people, from the Great Ormand Street patients and staff to the deaf choir signing the national anthem. It showed how we embrace who we are and what we stand for and I think everyone I’ve talked to about it has said the very same thing. It made us proud to be British.

I’m sorry to say this, but I’m going away AGAIN until the end of the week to take part in my job of a lifetime. I’m sorry I’ve been a rubbish blogger recently, I’m just so busy when I’m at home but hopefully I’ll have lots of experiences to share with you once I’m back.